Wedlocked?! (14 page)

“That's why he killed her?” Lily asked, clearly horrified. “Because of money?”

“Apparently so. The phone call was just to give him an alibi if anyone saw him with Sophia that night and told Ryan. With her dead, I think Flynn was too scared to come clean.”

Cole was still amazed at how neatly things had
finally fallen into place when the police had questioned Lockhart. Once he started talking, they could hardly shut him up. “When he went to the hotel to see her, they argued and she taunted him. She said she'd never give him a dime. That's when he lost his temper. They struggled.”

Until he'd happened on Lockhart with Annie earlier, Cole would never have understood that kind of rage, that loss of control. Seeing Annie in danger had given him a glimpse of the violent side of man. He would have done anything to save her. But of course he could never condone Lockhart's motives. The other man had been driven by greed.

“Lockhart claims he didn't realize what he was doing until it was too late,” Cole added. “When he saw that Sophia was dead, he panicked. But of course, he still remembered to call Flynn.”

“What about my bracelet?” Lily said. “How did that get in Sophia's suite?”

“Lockhart found it in the stable. He planned to sell it in Austin, but then he figured he could frame you or Ryan instead. He wasn't picky.”

Lily stared at her fiancé with dawning comprehension. “It might have been you,” she whispered.

“I'd rather it had been.” His voice was low with barely suppressed fury.

“At least I had the best attorney and the best investigator around on my side,” she responded.

“There's more,” Cole said. “Lockhart admitted to being involved with Bryan's kidnapping, but he
claims it was all Sophia's idea. Not only did she want the ransom money, but she figured stealing Ryan's grandson would be one more way to make him suffer. As if being married to Sophia wasn't torture enough.”

“So Clint knows where baby Bryan is?” Ryan asked.

The story was so bizarre that Cole still couldn't make sense of it. “No, that's the crazy part. Lockhart swears he didn't know they took the wrong baby until he and Sophia read in the newspaper that the one who'd been recovered wasn't Bryan. Now Lockhart claims the goons they hired to snatch him never noticed there were two babies in the nursery.”

Disappointment was etched on Ryan's face. “And we still don't know the story behind the baby who was returned to Matt and Claudia, although he's definitely a Fortune,” he said. “This baby's mother has never come forward, but
someone
brought him to Bryan's christening party. That person might know where Bryan is.”

“The FBI is still investigating,” Cole reminded him. Lockhart also denies having had anything to do with the ransom note that showed up on the anniversary of the kidnapping,” he added. “Lockhart said if he'd known about it, he sure as hell wouldn't have left the ransom unclaimed. The FBI wants to talk to him some more, but I don't think he's lying.”

“Why not?” Lily asked. “He lied about Sophia and he let me go through hell because of it.”

“If he knew anything more about the kidnapping or Bryan's whereabouts, you can bet he'd be trying to cut a better deal,” Cole concluded. “But there's still plenty of reason to hope that Bryan is still alive somewhere.”

“Of course there is,” Ryan agreed heartily. “As soon as we get home, I'll talk to Matt and Claudia. They'll want to know the latest news. Meanwhile, we have a party to plan.” He brought Lily's hand to his mouth and kissed it.

“A party?” she echoed, cheeks flushing.

“You betcha.” Ryan leaned over to capture her chin in his hand. His love for her was plain to see on his weathered face. “A celebration.”

When he was done kissing her and Lily had caught her breath, she beamed at Cole.

“You'll bring Annie to the party, won't you? There'd be no celebration if it wasn't for the two of you.”

Cole glanced at Annie, who appeared as flustered as he felt. Sometimes irritating her was more of a temptation than he could resist. “Sure,” he told his mother with a grin. “We'll be there.”

 

“Why did you agree to attending this together?” Annie whispered to Cole, smoothing the skirt of her turquoise dress with restless strokes. Bashes like this made her nervous.

Next to Lily, the two of them were the center of attention at the huge party sprawled across the
grounds of Ryan's estate. Ryan had insisted on dragging them around to meet every one of his guests, explaining each time how they'd solved the murder case and paved the way for him to marry the woman he loved. It was downright embarrassing.

Now she and Cole were posing for the photographer who'd come to take pictures for the local newspaper. Even a week after Lockhart's confession and arrest, the case was still big news.

“Can you stand closer together?” she asked as she held up the camera. “Maybe link arms.”

Behind her, Cole's sister Hannah, who was holding hands with her fiancé, Parker Malone, rolled her eyes in sympathy. Annie had met them both earlier and taken an instant liking to his quiet sister.

Annie turned in time to glimpse Cole's sudden, wicked grin and a shiver of warning went up her spine. Before she could react, he leaned her over his arm. He'd ditched the sling earlier. Apparently he was a fast healer. On the way out here, he'd promised with a rakish smile to show her his scar later.

“How's this for a photo op?” he asked, and then he tipped Annie backward. She clutched at him and shrieked in surprise, but he only took advantage of her parted lips, plundering them with a kiss that rocked her to her foundation. By the time he straightened and let her go, Annie was dazed, embarrassed and furious enough to spit.

Cole's expression was unbearably smug, and the
photographer was beaming. “Terrific,” she enthused.

“I want copies,” Cole said.

Annie glared at the other woman. “I want that film.” Then she rounded on Cole. “What the hell do you think you were doing?”

He didn't look at all repentant. “Giving in to an impulse?” he suggested. “Lighten up, Jones. Don't be a poor sport. It's a celebration.”

His obvious immunity to the kiss that had scrambled her brain only compounded her humiliation. “Your reputation's intact,” he added with a wink.

Annoyance and frustration bubbled inside her, but she knew she couldn't make a scene without looking like a shrew. She plastered a smile on her lips, but her eyes promised retribution.

“And your reputation's enhanced considerably,” she shot back before she huffed off. She hadn't gone ten feet when an attractive man with silver in his hair approached her.

As he introduced himself and began talking in an animated way, she glanced back at Cole with a toss of her head. His grin had faded. Not for anything would she admit to him that the man was hitting her up for help with employee pilfering at the business he owned.

Cole was still watching her smile and laugh, batting her eyelashes and posturing in her skimpy dress, a glass of champagne punch in one hand, when his mother came up and gave him a hug.

“Look who's here,” she said gaily.

Annoyed by the interruption, Cole turned to greet the new arrival.

“Maria!” he exclaimed, dismayed at his baby sister's appearance. She was thinner than usual and her body fairly hummed with tension.

“Hello, Cole.” Even while she greeted him, her gaze darted constantly around them. What on earth was her problem? She looked ready to bolt. “Nice party.” Her smile came and went so quickly that he nearly missed it, and her eyes looked haunted.

“How have you been?” he asked, conscious of their mother hovering anxiously. Hannah was moving purposefully in their direction, Parker trailing behind her. No doubt he wasn't all that eager to confront the woman who'd tried to sabotage his relationship with Hannah.

Maria gulped her drink. “I've been just fine,” she told Cole. “I wish you would all quit worrying about me.”

“Who's worried?” he drawled before Lily could say anything. “I've been a little busy myself lately, what with Mom's murder case and all.”

Apparently his sarcasm was lost on Maria, who glanced over to where Ryan stood with a large group of friends, all laughing and talking at once. “So you still think he's going to do the right thing?” she demanded, rounding on Lily. “The Fortunes are nothing but a bunch of users. They don't care about anyone but themselves.”

“Maria!” Lily gasped.

Maria gave Cole a contemptuous look. She'd always suspected his birthmark had some special significance. He dreaded having to tell her she was right. “Someday you'll wise up too,” she sneered.

“What's going on?” Hannah asked, clearly puzzled.

Ignoring her, Cole put an arm around Lily's shoulders. She was trembling. “Leave Mom alone,” he warned Maria. “She's been through a lot. Can't you stand for her to be happy?”

“How can any of you celebrate when there's a baby missing?” Maria's voice rose, and several people, including Annie, glanced their way.

“Will you shut up?” he growled, grabbing Maria's arm and giving her a shake. “You're making a scene.”

Angry spots of temper appeared on her hollow cheeks. She wrenched free of his grip. “I'm leaving,” she cried. “You're all phonies, and I don't want to be around you.”

“Maria, sweetheart—” Lily started, reaching for her.

“Let her go,” Cole interrupted, as Maria pushed her way rudely through the groups of people enjoying the Fortune hospitality.

Lily started to follow her, but Cole blocked her path. “I'll go talk to her tomorrow,” he promised, dreading the idea. “Maybe she will be calmer
then.” He glanced apologetically at Hannah. “I'm sorry I didn't go sooner.”

He knew with a sinking sensation that something was terribly wrong. Feeling selfish, he longed for just a short break before he had to deal with yet another family crisis.

Snagging a glass of punch from the tray of a passing waiter, he went off in search of Annie, who had disappeared. Before he took on his sister, there was something he needed to do for himself.

I
n search of a few moment's privacy, Annie walked down to Ryan's well-tended rose garden. In every direction were beds bursting with exotic colors, from nearly black to the palest lavender, from cream to apricot, from pink to burgundy. Arbors and trellises were covered with blooms striped in red and white, or ones whose petals were tinted different colors. Some of the roses were fully open, while others were tightly furled and only hinting at the beauty to come. The air was pleasantly heavy with their perfume and the water from a nearby fountain made soothing music.

Annie was sitting on a low bench, absorbing the peace of her surroundings, when she saw Cole walking toward her. She had tried to work up some anger at that very public kiss he'd bestowed on her for the photographer's benefit, but found that she couldn't. If Lockhart's aim had been better, she could have lost Cole for good.

He'd be leaving Texas soon and she didn't want to fight with him. Besides, he was too breathtakingly attractive as he walked purposefully toward her now,
looking very much like a man intent on claiming his woman.

The idea made Annie shiver with desire.

“You picked a gorgeous hiding place,” he said as he joined her on the bench and stretched out his legs. “It's my favorite part of the grounds.”

Annie was tempted to tell him she wasn't hiding. “Was that Maria I saw you talking to?” she asked.

“Yes, that was my infamous little sister, trying to spread warmth and cheer as usual.”

Annie had only heard part of Maria's outburst. “Her attitude must be difficult for your mother,” she said cautiously.

“I'm sure that Maria's constant and unending criticism of Ryan's family is very hurtful to Mom,” Cole agreed. “That's never curbed her tongue before, but today her wild ramblings reached a new level of nuttiness.”

“What do you mean?” Annie asked. She'd heard the other woman mention Bryan's kidnapping. Perhaps she'd been especially close to the baby before he disappeared.

Cole got to his feet, pacing restlessly in front of the bench with his hands in the pockets of his lightweight slacks.

“Maria has always been selfish and self-centered,” he said with an edge to his voice. “Mom worries. She can't help it. I promised I'd drive out
to Leather Bucket, where Maria's been living, and check on her tomorrow. Would you go with me?”

His request caught Annie off guard. “Why do you want me to go?” she asked. “I don't even know your sister. Wouldn't it be better if you saw her alone?”

He stopped his pacing to look down at her expectantly. “I'd like you to go because I enjoy your company,” he said. “I thought perhaps we could stop for lunch or dinner afterward on our way back. I haven't had a good Tex-Mex meal in way too long. If you want, you can sit in the car while I visit her, but I was hoping you'd go in with me. I'd like a second opinion on her mental state.”

“I don't have the credentials for that,” Annie objected.

“I'm not looking for a medical opinion, just another observation besides my own. Granted, I'm probably not very objective after all the mean things she's said about Mom's relationship with Ryan,” he admitted. “But the way Maria acted today was bizarre, even for her.”

“Okay,” Annie agreed, bending to bury her nose in a bush covered with fragrant white roses. “Although I don't know how much help I'll be.”

Cole didn't reply, and she finally looked up to find him staring at her intently.

“What's wrong?” she asked, glancing around suspiciously as she got to her feet. Was the photog
rapher slinking nearby, looking for a candid shot or two? She didn't see anyone hiding behind the foliage.

Cole's gaze wandered over her. “I wish you could see the picture you make in that dress, with the flowers around you. I wish I could pick them all and lay them at your feet.”

“I don't think Ryan would appreciate the gesture,” she said dryly.

“The heck with Ryan.” Cole's blue eyes danced with laughter. “Would you be impressed?”

“The roses you sent impressed me,” she admitted. “I wish they'd last forever.”

“I'll send you more,” he promised, taking her in his arms.

A little quiver of reaction went through her at his nearness, and she licked her suddenly dry lips with the tip of her tongue. She could feel the tension in Cole, the same sexual tension that gripped her whenever he was near.

“Let's get out of here,” he suggested, leaning forward to nuzzle her neck.

When his tongue traced a path along the skin of her throat, leaving a trail of fire and turning her good sense to mush, Annie was happy to comply.

 

“That's where Maria lives,” Cole told Annie as he pulled up in front of a rundown trailer in a modest park. Considering how important appearances
and material goods were to his sister, he was surprised she hadn't done better for herself than this desolate setting. No wonder she didn't encourage visitors. “Not very attractive, is it?”

“It's not exactly what I expected,” Annie replied diplomatically. “The carport's empty. Maybe your sister's not home.”

“Why don't you wait here while I knock?” he suggested. “It looks deserted.” There was no shade, so he left the engine running and the air-conditioning on.

Cole climbed the rickety steps and knocked on the rust-stained door, but he was met with the silence of an empty house. Annie was right; there was no one home. Cupping his hands around his eyes, he peered through a window covered by a sheer curtain. Through it he could make out a few pieces of furniture and, surprisingly, a playpen in one corner of the main room. Through an archway he could see a high chair in the kitchen and a box of disposable diapers next to it on the floor.

Was she doing some baby-sitting on the side? He realized he had no idea where she worked. His stomach clenched as he recalled her bitter comments, her assertions that the Fortunes “owed” them. Was it possible that she'd been mixed up in Bryan's kidnapping? Could the baby things be Bryan's? Surely not. If Lockhart knew where the baby was, he would have told them—to save his own skin.

“You looking for the gal who lives there?” called an old woman who'd come out of a nearby trailer. “She ain't home.”

Cole went back down the steps. “You know her?” he asked.

She studied him through narrowed eyes. “You a bill collector?”

Perhaps he should have worn jeans instead of his usual slacks and dress shirt, a tie knotted at his neck despite the heat. Habits died hard.

“No,” he replied. “I'm her brother, just come out for a visit.”

The woman took a drag from the cigarette smoldering between two fingers. “I ain't seen you around before. You got ID?”

With a wry grin, he pulled out his wallet and showed her his Colorado driver's license, wondering what Annie thought about all this.

“I'm from Denver,” he said, while the neighbor studied the license as though she suspected its validity. He half expected her to bite it, like one would a gold coin. “See, the last name's the same. How well do you know Maria?”

She grinned, revealing stained teeth. “Not much at all,” she admitted with a chuckle. “Girl keeps to herself.”

Putting away his wallet, he nearly threw up his hands in frustration. Instead he managed a smile.
“Do you know where she went?” he asked with forced patience, “or when she might be back?”

“Can't say. She left a little while ago. Usually she's gone several hours, but I don't know where it is she goes.”

Cole wondered if all this woman did was sit by her window and keep tabs on her neighbors. He was about to ask about the baby things he'd seen when a phone started ringing.

“That's mine,” she said, hurrying off with surprising agility. “Your sis will be back in a while. Be patient.”

She disappeared into the trailer, slamming the screen door behind her, and Cole walked back to the car. It was too hot to sit here and wait.

“What did you find out?” Annie asked.

Glancing at his watch, he described what he'd seen through the window and what he suspected about her potential involvement in Bryan's kidnapping. “I want to hear her explanation for the baby gear.”

“A high chair and a playpen don't mean she's kidnapped someone,” Annie protested. “They could belong to a friend's child. Or she could be doing some baby-sitting for extra money as you said. There may be any number of explanations.”

“And I want to hear Maria's,” he said grimly, stomach jumping with nerves. Maybe some food would calm it. “We passed a burger joint a little
ways down the road. Let's get something to eat. Maybe she'll turn up by the time we're done and we can get a few answers.”

They were gone less than an hour. When they drove back into the park, the parking spot by Maria's trailer home was still empty. Cole wouldn't have stopped, but the woman he'd talked to earlier came out and flagged him down.

“You just missed your sister,” she said breathlessly. “She showed up right after you left. I'm surprised you didn't pass her on the road.”

“Did you talk to her?” Cole asked impatiently.

“I was going to tell her you'd been here, but she was in a tearing hurry. She ran inside and came out a few minutes later with a couple of suitcases.” She stared at him hard. “You sure you're her brother and not the law?”

“I'm sure,” Cole replied, his frustration mounting. They'd just missed her! “Then what happened?”

“She loaded her car to the gills. Looked like everything she owned. Then she locked the place up tight and took off with the baby.”

He was right! “Whose baby was it?” he demanded.

The old woman looked surprised by his question. “Hers, I guess. I never asked.” A suspicious expression crossed her face. “Say, what kind of family
are you, if you don't even know whether or not your own sister has a kid?”

“Good question,” Cole mumbled, turning away.

 

“Don't blame yourself for Maria's problems,” Annie said after they'd left the depressing mobile home park behind. She'd heard part of what the old woman had said to him, and she could guess at the burden of responsibility a man like Cole would heap on himself.

“You know me pretty well,” he said with a faint smile. “I don't even want to guess at what she's doing with a baby.”

“If she was part of the kidnapping scheme she wouldn't be living in a place like that. She could name her price, and you know it,” Annie told him. “There has to be some other explanation. Do you think it's possible that Maria had a baby and was reluctant to tell you?”

“It wouldn't surprise me. I don't understand her and I guess I never have,” he said. “Maria was always different from Hannah and me.” Cole glanced at the stereo. “Why don't you tune in some music you like?” he suggested abruptly.

Assuming he didn't feel like discussing his sister any further, Annie found a station that played soft rock. Then she sat quietly, looking out the side window at the fields they passed.

After a while, Cole surprised her by slowing
down and turning off the main highway back to San Antonio.

“This isn't the way we came,” she exclaimed, puzzled. Since they'd already eaten, he hadn't mentioned stopping anywhere else. Perhaps he had an idea where Maria might have gone.

In a moment, he slowed again. “There used to be a nice shady spot by a creek down here,” he said as they bumped over a narrow gravel road. It meandered past a farmhouse and a dilapidated barn before winding down a long, lazy hill toward a grove of cottonwoods. “Back in high school, my buddies and I would come here, swim if the water was deep enough, drink a few beers if we could get them, talk about the future.”

Annie looked around at the rolling fields of grass in every shade of gold and brown. She wondered if he'd brought girls here, but she didn't ask.

“I won't jump to any conclusions about Maria,” he promised as he eased the car to a stop in the shade and rolled down the windows. It was cooler here. “I try not to make the same mistake twice.”

Annie had no idea why he had brought her here, but she could hear the faint sound of flowing water. With the long drive ahead of them it would be nice to stretch her legs for a moment.

“Can we walk a little?” she asked, glad she'd worn tennis shoes instead of sandals.

“Sure we can.” He shut off the engine, yanked
his tie from around his neck and hung it on the rear-view mirror. Then he released the top button of his shirt and rolled back his sleeves.

When he opened his door and got out, Annie joined him. He laced his fingers through hers. For a few minutes, they walked in silence along a path by the creek, their joined hands swinging idly. Cole seemed preoccupied, and she wondered if he was thinking about Maria again.

“The last few weeks have been like something out of a soap opera,” he said finally. “Sophia gets murdered and they arrest Mom. I find out Chester Cassidy isn't my real father. You nearly get abducted. Lockhart confesses to the murder. And I find out Maria apparently has a baby.”

“It's a lot to deal with,” Annie agreed. “What did you mean about not making the same mistake twice?” she asked when her curiosity finally got the better of her.

Cole looked down at her as they walked. “When I leaped to the assumption that you were guilty six years ago, I lost you. It was a painful lesson.”

His words shocked her to the core. “Does that mean you're willing to concede that our break wasn't totally my fault?” she blurted. She'd always assumed he blamed her entirely for what had gone wrong between them.

Letting go of her hand and turning partially away from her, he seemed to be studying something in the
distance. He was silent for so long that Annie assumed her question had angered him. She didn't know what else to say. He was the one who had brought up the subject.